


Merpocalypse

by Sliver_Tail



Series: Manor Mayhem [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everybody is suffering a bit, Gen, Human!Jason, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Jason suffers, Kidnapping, Lionfish Mer!Tim Drake, Mer AU, MerMay 2020, Mershark!Bruce Wayne, Mershark!Damian al Ghul Wayne, Mild Language, Minor Character Death, Octomer!Dick Grayson, POV Alternating, Post-Apocalypse, Use of greek mythology, happy/hopeful ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:34:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 20,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24400666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sliver_Tail/pseuds/Sliver_Tail
Summary: "Plenty of people have gone missing at sea, if they didn’t drown or get outright killed by a shark or otherwise, it could very well have been the case they found themselves in the same situation as Jason. The problem with that theory however, meant that they never made it out to tell the tale. Jason sure as Hell wasn’t about to end up like that. Ironically though, even if he did make it out, he still wouldn’t get to tell the tale; there’s no one to tell."Or: Jason gets captured by some Mers with issues against him and Humans in general, but he bulldozes his way into their hearts eventually via some painful trials.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson (mentioned), Talia al Ghul/Bruce Wayne (mentioned)
Series: Manor Mayhem [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774978
Comments: 37
Kudos: 145





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've changed the summary of this fic so many times lmao
> 
> Enjoy~!

No one was exactly sure what had caused the multiple nuclear plants along with every single nuclear warhead in the world to detonate at the same time, but it’s not as if there were many people to hold a debate with about it anyways in the aftermath, so that was all entirely pointless to care about. It didn’t matter if Luthor finally succumbed to his insane grandiose plans of killing Superman, being a tad too overeager about it, or if an alien species infected the governments of the world to try to terraform the planet to their liking, or that Brainiac malfunctioned epically after failing to get “Who’s that Pokémon” right. That last one was certainly a joke, but there was always a need to find humor, especially if you hadn’t had contact with another human being for what had to be months at this point. The Human brain goes a bit loopy at some point without some good human socialization. 

Jason wouldn’t be too surprised if a combination of radiation exposure, isolation and, oh, don’t forget the concussion, several actually, was making his brain turn into pure mush. He had finally walked the long distance it was from his old home in Gotham to the shoreline of the ocean. Usually, the ocean was just a few dozen blocks away from the apartment he had with his mom; easy walking distance aided by marked streets and sidewalks. Those were all luxuries that had deteriorated after the Big One, as what Jason has taken up to calling that horrific day. The ocean had dried up, rearing back and revealing shattered pieces and dust of former coral reefs and deceased fish and crabs. Pieces that were very unpleasant to walk on with his ruined sneakers. He made it his mission to reach the new coast to have access to water and hopefully rain, since Gotham, a place that made England seem dry on its decent days, was as dry as the Sahara desert now. Jason is still dealing with the surprise of that, for some reason it was one of the harder things to accept for this new life. He managed to snag plenty of water bottles, but if he didn’t reach the ocean soon, he’s going to first pass out and then die of dehydration. 

Thankfully, he reached it within an hour. Unthankfully, he now had to search for fish, with no gear. Food had some amount of water in it, so it should help. The dehydration was setting in faster than he thought it would because he couldn’t muster any effort to acknowledge that “unthankfully” wasn’t a real word. Maybe because some part of him was also disgruntled by the knowledge that it wasn’t a real word. Ah, concussions are always so nice. He had misjudged the distance between two roofs and now he spends his time oscillating between why some word should exist vs the fact that it doesn’t exist. 

Something, over there flickered in the waters, drawing Jason’s eyes immediately. A fish, jumping sporadically above the waves; it seemed almost stressed, the way that it skittered across the surface of the water like a skipping rock. Jason was glad that he had been conserving his energy efficiently throughout his journey, because he now had the reserves to sprint and chase after the jumpy little meal. He quickly learned that perhaps he should’ve exercised more suspicion about it when three shapes of blurred shadows sped towards him in the water that went just above his knees. Before he could invent a new curse word with his concussion addled brain, hands were grabbing him. There was only one thing that fit the description of these creatures and he knew he was screwed. 

Jason kicked up as much of a fuss as he could but against three Mers in their liquid environment coupled with a recently earned concussion, there was just no way he was going to get out of this alive. He should have known that fish was too easy to grab, it was just completely typical for his shit kind of luck to nab a fish that was a herd of Mers’ prey. He couldn’t even bring himself to be surprised about it. These last few weeks have been Hell so having the finale of being ripped into alive by bloodthirsty wronged Mers would just be the cherry on top of his dirt shit sundae. 

Except for the fact of after a full minute of useless struggles and flailing about, Jason couldn’t help but notice the distinct lack of shock-inducing blood loss, severe scream-producing pain, and other great things that come about from being mauled to death by angry Mers. 

That was not expected. At all. 

The biggest of the three Mers was careful in his practice of restraining Jason’s bulkier arms, carefully keeping his bright yellow tentacles spotted with blue rings away from Jason’s skin. That kind of consideration meant that they wanted him alive. Blue-Ringed Octomers were notoriously deadly for their poison capable of killing dozens of grown men in minutes and this one was taking care to avoid touching him. Jason hated and worried about being taken alive even more than them just killing him so he summoned the last vestiges of his strength trying to throw them off. 

The smallest was a Mershark with a narrow tail whipping wildly as he kept up with Jason’s struggles, the youngster’s harsh iridescent green eyes glowered at him trying to force him into submission. The other one was clearly a Lionfish Mer, (the extravagant red spines striped with white and brown giving him away) who kept himself busy by holding his kicking legs aside. 

“Knock him out, already! This pathetic attempt at escaping retribution is a sore to watch.” The Mershark hissed, teeth fully exposed and much too close to Jason’s face for his liking, as he addressed the Octomer behind him. And Jason couldn’t help himself from freezing in shock at the perfect English coming out of the young Mer’s mouth; all the rumors, true. It was a stupid mistake that allowed the Octomer behind him to use an arm to choke him, forearm placing an uncomfortable amount of pressure on his trachea. Jason gave one last token effort to escape before being taken over by the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conversation between brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dick's POV

The brothers had lived off of the small fish and crabs that roamed around, living by the scraps the ravaged corals had to offer. It was barely enough as is and it was only thanks to Bruce’s long trips and the occasional small skirmish, collecting more and more scars along the way, that they had been able to sustain themselves for as long as they have. Food security was becoming more and more dire and more insecure as the days went on and soon enough the whole shiver would have to make a dangerous voyage to a newer and more bountiful location. It would be dangerous because there was bound to be other Mers willing to fight to the death over their territory. Some Mers would see them as prey even; as food insecurity became more prevalent so did cases of cannibalism. Not that that was new behavior for Mers, but never had it been so possible to end up in another Mer’s gullet before. 

And here was the cause of all of this. A human. Dick hadn’t had the chance to truly observe the human he caught with his younger brothers, not to mention the fact that it was the first one he’d ever experience the oh-so-wonderful pleasure of speaking to, but so far he was not impressed. He couldn’t help but wonder if all humans were so pathetically weak or if it was just this one, starved as it was, but if it turned out to be the case of the former then good riddance of those arrogant menaces. Mom and many others, Mers Dick never even knew, were never coming back because of them. A mere casualty to their hubris. This weak starving thing of a creature just being in his proximity had his tentacles swirling in the water around him in clear anger. 

“Dick, knock it off.” Tim warned sternly, eyes wearily watching the sleeping human resting on the dry surface above their main cave, “I know the situation isn’t ideal-” 

“Ideal?!” Dick screamed in a rage, his arms gesturing wildly at the boy, only the fact that they were underwater stopped the human from jolting awake. “That thing in our home is part of the reason why mom is never coming back!”

“I know, Dick! I know!” Tim’s spines flexed rampantly to the tune of his devastating emotions, “I want him to suffer like she did from the poisoning! Poseidon and the Gods! I want it to be as slow and painful for him as it was for her! But!” Tim gritted his teeth, eyes closed in frustration and Dick felt himself shatter into pieces watching his brother break in front of him like this, “We need information, we have to know what went wrong over on their side so we can avoid something like this ever happening again. I need to know, Dick! Dammit, if only I had-” 

Tim was cut off by Dick dragging him a tight hug, tentacles and arms holding his younger brother close to him, trying to expel the negative emotions consuming Tim. He brushed a hand through Tim’s flowing mane of hair. He wished Damian was here as well instead of out hunting, he always knew what had to be said to snap Tim out of a depressive state, but not only that because Dick knew he wasn’t succeeding in reaching out to Dami like he hoped he was. Damian had been hurt the most by Talia’s death and Dick feared it would be a scar that would always fester, never healing and always gaping. 

“Stop right there, Timmy.” He closed his eyes, tears leaking against his will, the seawater taking them away like they never existed. Like it has taken so many other things from them. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for this.” 

“I-I need to blame someone for this, Dick a-and I-” Tim stuttered out, clutching at the comfort Dick provided him. 

“Not yourself.” Dick commanded, “No, just, please no, Tim.” He pulled away slightly, blowing water bubbles in frustration, “We have a human, Tim. Someone we could actually blame and not be wrong for doing so. So, stop hurting yourself for no reason, okay?” He was shaking but his eyes were earnest and filled with determined intent and Tim found himself nodding in agreement. 

Dick could be like that sometimes, so charismatic that everyone else had no choice but to just go along with it. They just had to wait for the dark-haired human boy to awaken and they could work on getting the precious information they’ve been waiting awhile to get. This was the first human they even got a glimpse of since that terrible day and who knew when another human would come by again. They needed to make sure it worked out with this human. That they got all of the information needed out of him, whether willingly given or not was irrelevant. As long as they found out the how and the why behind that day, it will be enough for them. They will never allow the humans to hurt them ever again. 

The cost of their ignorance was too high the first time. 

Never again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I should mention that "shiver" is a word used for a group of sharks. I am using my liberty as author to use it for Mers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason understands his new situation. Doesn't mean he likes it, however.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Jason's POV

Waking up was a struggle in and of itself and opening his eyes was another battle he had to fight hard to win. Jason was nothing but a stubborn bastard though, so he managed in the end. The struggle seemed pointless though when everything still remained mostly dark. A hint of light from the pool of water not far from him provided all of the light, showing a large cave with stalactites and stalagmites scattered all over. 

If he wanted more details than that he’d have to stand up and feel along the walls for an exit of some sort or find a better source of light, which brought him back to the large pool. He was struggling to remember what happened but the sight of water made for a useful trigger to remind him that he got captured by three Mers. Even more, interestingly enough, was what was in the pool. From his current position, sitting that is, Jason could see parts of what seemed to be portraits of people hung up on the walls of the pool, although knowing where he was, he was positive that the fish parts of the Mers in the pictures were either cut off entirely or he just wasn’t at the best angle to see it. Pieces of rocks were arranged not that differently from how a person would arrange their furniture, giving him the idea that those rocks were the Mer’s equivalent of a couch and a table. 

Fortunately, Jason couldn’t see anyone around, human or not, so it was time to get out before he found himself disemboweled and in someone’s stomach. The Mers probably wanted some sort of livestock to tide their hunger over for a bit; everyone was starving these days. If he stayed, he’ll most likely be missing a limb or two by the end of the day. And then another by the end of the next. He got up and realized that sometime in his unwanted beauty nap, someone had taken his clothes and shoes, leaving him with only his dirtied boxers for modesty. Okay, that was only a small setback, Jason would be able to swim out of the cave better, although the cold would be more annoying. He’ll definitely be missing his shoes when he gets to the scorching hot sands on land, though. But it’s not the end of the world. 

…

Maybe not the best phrase to use given current events. But the spirit of it was well-intentioned. Avoiding a slow and painful death sounds like a great idea. 

Without further ado, Jason walked over to the pool and looked around the cave to see if there was any way he could leave without getting into the waters, confirming his fears that there weren’t, in fact, any. He’ll have to take the risk. This was maybe his only chance to escape before the lack of a leg or arm or both, ensured that he’ll never be able to swim again. Maybe Mers treated their foods the same way a Human wants only the breast or leg of a chicken; maybe that young Mershark only wants his bone marrow and brain. That gave the boy more than enough motivation to lower himself gently into the water, avoiding making any sudden movements. Blood wasn’t the only thing that attracted Mers after all. 

He took several deep breaths, willing himself to ignore the extreme cold that was leeching away at his body’s warmth, working his lungs up to full carrying capacity before diving under fully. The salt stung his eyes and the pictures on the walls were too blurry for him to see any distinct features, but he could definitely see the blobs of fish parts to them now. He moved as quickly as he could towards the entrance with the most light coming out of it, signaling that its proximity to the sun was closer than the other darker exits. Just as he moved past the entranceway, a blur of yellow and blue darted towards him. Jason couldn’t see enough details with his stinging eyes but he didn’t have to; the colors were enough to tell him that the Octomer saw his escape. He felt dread and panic swell in his belly as he thrashed his arms, backing up to the cave he just left. Being in the water with a Mer was usually the last thing a Human did before they were brutally killed. 

One of the Octomer’s bright yellow tentacles brushed against his arm and the pain was instant, like a gunshot wound ripping into his flesh right where contact had been made. With the pain brought paralysis. Jason was unable to move the arm the Octomer had grazed against, and he realized hysterically that his lungs were going to be hampered very soon too. Not a good thing since he needed them to hold in the big gulp of air he took before his plunge. The Mer’s hand, slippy and covered in some sort of slick, gripped the elbow of the arm he could still move, pulling him along as they drifted towards the center of the room. 

His lungs froze up on him midway, forcing the last of his air out. He made aborted efforts to get away from the Mer and back towards the surface, but the Mer kept his grip on him unbothered and moved them upwards slowly, not moving as swiftly as a Mer was capable of. Hazily, through his intense fear and increasing need for oxygen, Jason recognized this to be additional punishment for his escape attempt. They resurfaced, both their heads above the water and Jason still couldn’t breathe. 

The Mer dragged the paralyzed boy to the dry rocks, hefting the boy carelessly out of the water. The Human’s skin scraping and bruising from the harsh contact with jagged rocks as the older male dumped him there. A few seconds of Jason still struggling for breath and the Mer staring at him happened before the Mer brought a vial of purple liquid to the uselessly gasping lips of the Human, spilling its contents into Jason’s mouth. 

The effects of paralysis quickly disappeared as soon as the vial was emptied and sent Jason into a coughing fit as he greedily filled his lungs back up with air, limbs trembling from the aftermath of the poison. 

“Unless you want a repeat experience, you’ll stay there, Human.” The Octomer spat out in warning, his glaring eyes searing into Jason. Disgust and hatred oozed out of the Mer with each word, especially in the word Human, twisting with enough emotion out of the Mer’s pulled back lips that Jason barely heard it, coughing as he was. In a twist of tentacles, the Octomer sped out of Jason’s sight. The Human uses what little strength he has left to curl into himself, the only comfort his new prison has to offer. 

It won't be permanent if he has any say in it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wild Mershark appears.

It irritated the older Mershark whenever he was faced with the reality of this new life and that the good people he had were now gone when living scum like Slade Wilson and Ra’s al Ghul were still breathing water into their gills. The unfairness of it all was cruel. Not as cruel and terrible as Talia’s last living moments with the shiver had been (gills working rapidly to no avail, scarred eyes unseeing but roving around trying to find something, her pups, her mate, something, anything; mangled throat croaking out the names of her shiver, pleading for some comfort that they couldn’t give her. Before understanding that this was her last day amongst the living and she died with a smile on her lips, twisted with effort, but a smile still; a last memory for them all, held by her shiver until all warmth left her), but still merciless. 

Bruce’s therapy, something only he considered effective thus far to the dismay of his pups, had been long excursions outside of the shiver’s territory. It was nice hunting down prey larger than himself and it’s not like his shiver didn’t require the extra food the trips provided. Doing physical things forced him to be present in the now, lest he die at the nonexistent mercy of a shark; there was no time to reflect on the past. He still wished Alfred was around to supervise the youngsters of the shiver, they were far too mischievous to be left alone for too long. Alfred had been on a voyage to the shores of Britain for his annual meet-up with his pod of Humpback Whale Mers on the day of the explosions and had yet to return. News every few high tides indicating that Alfred was alive and staying with his pod was the only reason the shiver hadn’t crossed the vast expanse of ocean to reach him. 

One day, Alfred will be reunited with the shiver. Bruce wasn’t sure when that day would come, but he hoped that it was soon, before his pups drove him completely insane with their shenanigans. Tim’s latest experiment to create a backpack made from seaweed, backfiring spectacularly with several enraged Tuna fish, nipping away wildly at Tim, was enough to last him several moon cycles. Bruce still wasn’t even sure how something so simple as making a bag went so bad. He swore it was only his pups that could fail so miserably and that Poseidon thought it funny, giving him troublesome shiver members. 

Bruce glided through the seaweed garden surrounding their cave system eagerly, his large catch of shark floating by his tail’s side good news for the Mers. It had been difficult to hunt, the new gash, still bright red, decorating his forearm was just the latest addition in a long list of scars and injuries the Mershark earned in his life. It was worth it if it meant that his pups would go to sleep full and wanting not. His excitement transformed to wariness at the sight of his three pups waiting for him at the entrance, however. They only ever floated in vigil at the entrance of the cave to prevent him from seeing something shocking without any warning. Damian must have been paying attention and smelt his blood before bringing the others outside to wait with him. This was bound to be something tiring. 

“It seems a pest wandered into our territory, Father.” The youngest one spoke up, getting straight to the point. Small talk was always a weak point for him. 

“You mean the shark? Don’t worry, she’s with me.” Bruce joked, “She’s not very talkative.” His pups groaned in annoyance. 

“Why did you tell him about dad jokes, Timmy?” Bruce heard Dick whisper to Tim in exasperation. Tim’s multicolored spines deflated from their poised position in defeat, looking very much like he regrets some life decisions he’s made. His pups were such brats. 

“No, not the shark, dad.” Dick continued louder, tentacles twisting around in nervousness and excitement. 

“We found a human.” Tim blurted out, his tail swishing quickly in his excitement. “He’s on the dry part of the main cave.” 

The shock that overcame Bruce made him let go of his catch, letting it sink slowly to the sandy bottom. 

“Ah! Bruce!” Dick zoomed forward, catching the shark before it could touch the sand. “Don’t you know how annoying sand between your teeth is?!” Annoyance was clear on his face. The attitude made Bruce snap out of his shock and confusion and focus on the new fiasco his pups brought to him this time. This was not the time for idleness. 

"Did you disarm the human?" Bruce demanded, moving swiftly through the water towards the main cave, the three pups following after him, the shark carried by Dick who Damian quickly took upon himself as a task for himself. His need to feel useful to Bruce was strong as ever. 

"Yes," Tim replied, "he did not have much on him. We took his clothes to establish his lower status here."

"Good." Bruce murmured in distraction. His second pup could be pretty terrifying when it came to mind games and he's sure the human would lose against that brain of his. 

Still, steps would have to be taken to care for a human in an environment not ideal to it. Food, proper shelter, and more would have to be planned out if they wanted the human to live longer than two days. Water is the most pressing issue, since humans needed water without salt. He'll need to ask Tim to find a solution to that. For the sake of convenience, he hoped that Tim was already drafting ideas on how to tackle it. 

Getting answers might take a few days, even if harsher techniques were employed. The Mers hadn't a single clue on human anatomy either, so even that would have to be planned out. It wouldn't do if they accidentally killed the boy when they meant to inflict pain. Bruce needed to find out about human weaknesses and he needed to know about them yesterday. All of these details Bruce feels his pups deliberately left for him to flounder upon. 

"His shoes are pretty much the same as any other you could find abandoned in the sea. Nothing special about the rest of him either." Dick commented, nonchalantly. “They were pretty damaged though. He must have traveled far to get to the ocean.”

“How did you remove the clothes?” He asks and Dick shrugs, “I just ripped the top part covering his torso off, no big deal. Timmy knew how to take off the lower parts of the clothes." Dick made a weird face, "why and how do you know that, Tim?" 

"Connor." He answered, looking away. The good humor died off in Dick. "Right. Your human friend."  
Tim sighed in resignation. "Not really up for your disapproval right now, Dick." 

“How did you manage to bring him down here?” Bruce asked, confounded. He was also not interested in repeating the long conversation and screaming match about Tim’s human friend again. Besides, the human was dead; feasting upon the decaying carcass would only lead to sickness in the shiver and nothing would be resolved. 

So, a little reminder of their current situation was needed. He never brought a human down to the cave system, so he was interested in how his pups managed it. Humans weren’t great swimmers and most of them couldn’t hold their breath much longer than a minute or two. Their caves were far from the reach of most humans even if they used their special equipment. 

“I did, father.” His youngest spoke up, “I… provided him the oxygen needed during our trip via mouth to mouth…” His nose scrunched up in disgust and Bruce felt a small splash of fondness. “It was most vile, father. A necessary evil, unfortunately.” 

“Hey, I distinctly recall you being the one to demand that honor.” Tim bubbled out, amusement obvious for all to see. 

Damian scowled, “Your frail lungs would collapse under such an endeavor, Tim. And Grayson would spend too much time worrying about accidentally poisoning the human to be useful. It would have drowned not even halfway here.” 

It was Tim’s turn to scowl as Dick made an offended noise, wanting to object but too realistic as well; he definitely would have messed up like that if he was the one responsible.

“My lungs are perfectly fine.” 

“Yes, as fine as a Sea Star with wasting disease.” Tim didn’t bother with words, choosing instead to lunge for his brother and flicking him in the gills. A small squabble ensued.

“Guys!” Dick expelled water from his lips in light-hearted exasperation. Bruce was too preoccupied with staring up at the curled form of the human above his main cave, plans formulating in his mind. 

“Dick? What did you do?” Tim asked, hesitantly, noticing the curled up human. He was awake now, that much was obvious, even more obvious was the fact the human was in pain and the only suspect was his older brother. 

“I caught him leaving the main cave.” Dick answered, unrepently, “I gave him a good reason to stay put.” 

“You mean you poisoned him.” Bruce corrected, tone flat. There was no disapproval to the tone which encouraged Dick to divulge more. 

“Yup. A little graze and the poor thing was helpless.” He confirmed. “Timmy, your antidote worked really well.” 

“What?!” Tim demanded, startled and enraged, “Dick, what in Hades were you thinking?! I told you I haven’t gotten around to actually testing it!” He hissed, his colored spines straight and posed, teeth bared. His throat made several clicks, a classic sign of an angered Mer. 

Dick instinctively clicked back a few times before cutting himself off, “Look, it worked.”

“I’ll be the one to determine that.” Tim swam towards the human, leaving the rest of his shiver to share a look. 

“I’ll store the shark away, father.” Damian pulled the corpse with him out of the main cave, leaving the older shiver members to deal with their unwilling guest. Bruce knew Damian wouldn’t waste any time to complete his task and probably was zipping over to the food storage cave once he was out of their sights. Bruce barely paid that detail any attention though, choosing instead to surface above the water at a distance to gather information on the human before approaching. Anything to help make a plan of attack to find out what they needed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason meets the Mers holding him against his will.

The pain receded into background noise until the only reminder of the experience was a tingling sensation where the Mer had touched him. Jason kept himself curled up into a tight ball regardless. He thought he’d been imagining the Mers being able to speak English when he heard the young Mershark speak, but that last threat the Octomer gave before leaving, after watching Jason panicking about whether or not it’d be his last breath, confirmed it with the force of a freight train barreling into him. Back before the Big One, Jason heard the rumors of bloodthirsty Mers; intelligent enough to learn the languages of humans to trick them if their superior strength wasn’t enough to kill. 

Humans and Mers have always been predators in contention with one another for as long as history was being recorded on stone tablets, and before even that. It probably wasn’t the first time Mers have taken a human alive and brought them to their abode like someone brings groceries back from the store. Plenty of people have gone missing at sea, if they didn’t drown or get outright killed by a shark or otherwise, it could very well have been the case they found themselves in the same situation as Jason. The problem with that theory however, meant that they never made it out to tell the tale. Jason sure as Hell wasn’t about to end up like that. Ironically though, even if he did make it out, he still wouldn’t get to tell the tale; there’s no one to tell. 

No mom, no Roy and his girlfriend at the time, Kory, no teachers (some of them were assholes, but still). The time that had passed had not been enough to heal those scars and, frankly speaking, all the time in the universe would never be enough. No dad, but Jason wasn’t about to cry over that; he’d sooner throw a party celebrating that scumbag’s death than give any of his tears for him. Although, the image of showing one up on the old bastard by escaping captivity from Mers warmed Jason up in the cold cave. 

The lack of clothes and his rudely interrupted dip in the water earlier only helped the cold air suck away at his warmth. It wasn’t bad enough for him to get hypothermia though, a small gift all things considered. It was only enough to make him shiver and for his skin to form goosebumps. So, he stayed curled up for the few minutes the Octomer was gone before he saw a head bob upwards from the pool. 

It wasn’t the Octomer, it was the Lionfish Mer instead. His eyes were a much lighter blue than the older Mer’s and his pitch black hair was longer, almost reaching his chin and dripping wet. The bright red spines the Mer had where humans had their ears was the biggest giveaway though, it looked like some strange Mer take on elf ears. If it wasn’t for the flat chest, Jason wouldn’t have questioned it if someone told him this Mer was a chick. 

Jason couldn’t help but tense as the Mer glided through the water silently towards him and uncurled himself to be able to move quickly in case it tried anything. Lionfish Mers, while not as deadly as Blue-Ringed Octomers, still had venom in some of their spines, which, granted, took much longer to kill, but that just made it less ideal. The location of those spines varied from Mer to Mer which made them particularly dangerous; they had too many spines to avoid them all and you had no idea which one was the one that would kill you slowly. You’d only find out after you’ve been pierced by one. 

Having reached the edge of the pool, the mer looked him over, not even hiding his curiosity and maybe Jason was incorrectly assigning human emotions and social cues to the creature but it almost looked concerned for him. And yeah, that had to be a mistake on Jason’s part. Although, maybe the creature was concerned about the health of its meal; it wouldn’t do to eat something diseased after all. The staring was annoying and rude though.

“Whatcha staring at, bitch?” He demanded rudely, sitting up and backing up to a safe distance. Man, was his voice rough. How long had it been since he’s had to use it? 

“I’m just checking for any differences.” 

“...Why?” Jason was more than a bit confused at this point. 

“My name is Tim.” The Lionfish mer answered instead and Jason really didn’t give a rat’s ass about that, “My older brother, Dick, used my antidote for his poison on you-” 

Jason barked out a laugh, hysterical and disbelieving. “Dick?” He repeated, amusement tinting his voice. The mer kept up at his unnerving staring and Jason was starting to feel like a blood slide under a microscope for how intently this mer was looking at him. 

“Have a problem with my name, human?” Sometime while Jason was busy assessing the threat the new mer posed the Octomer decided to pop up. Another face, noticeably older, further away watched him too. Great. Even better was the tremble in his hands from the sight of the mer. He was not going to give the mer any additional satisfaction over poisoning him. He clenched his fists to curb the shaking. He had been forced to be helpless once and he refused to be in that scenario again. 

“I have 99 problems and Dick being your name isn’t one of them.” Wow, he disappointed himself with that one. Clearly he was lacking some social interaction if that was his comeback. He needed to be better than that, something more brash and crass; a special serving for that earlier happy panic trip the mer sent him on. He shakily got up, licking his dry lips, swishing his tongue to summon what little moisture remained. He walked up the edge of the pool, maintaining distance from the Lionfish Mer, blandly named Tim apparently. 

As the two Mers watched, Jason spat out a fat glob into the water, sneering at the Octomer in disdain, “Breath in that, Mer.” 

He heard the youngest Mer in the cave let out an affronted noise off to his side. The Octomer sounded off several threatening clicks, seeming completely ready to drag Jason into the pool and slit his throat. Tentacles rose above the water and splashed the water as they thrashed about around the mer in some sort of display of power, dominance, or anger. Whatever. He resembled a child having a tantrum and the comparison had Jason direct a mean smile at the mer. 

“Dick.” The oldest Mer warned calmly. Jason had been wondering if the Mer could speak English, much less make any noise with how quiet he’s been thus far. Apparently, he was just waiting to butt in on the conversation. Dick still had widened eyes on Jason, glowering at him in rage, but heeded the unspoken command the Mershark gave him, tentacles stilling and lowering back into the water. 

“Well, I guess he is fine after all.” The Lionfish mer muttered. Dick sent a displeased scowl at the back of the younger’s head. 

“Now I’m wishing I grabbed the wrong vial.” He snarked back. 

“Boys.” The oldest chided and they listened, quietening as the Mer swam over, giving Jason the chance to catch a glimpse of his tail to ascertain his type. The dark gray tail told him this one was another Mershark. The approach of the mer also let Jason get an eyeful of scars littering every inch of skin, human appearing and otherwise. The most impressive had to be the deep puncture wounds at the juncture of the Mershark’s neck and shoulder though, like another mer had bitten straight to the bone, leaving a permanent indentation of teeth. It looked like it had been incredibly painful and the red slash on his forearm told Jason this one was a fighter still fighting and not to be messed with, especially since he appeared to be the leader of this herd. 

But wait, Jason backtracked, if that was the case, this was a shiver not a herd then; the little amount of mer culture humans learned involved group naming to be based on the Mer type of the leader. The Mershark started talking, forcing Jason to pull himself out of his thoughts. 

“Human, we have some questions to ask. And I suggest you answer them honestly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's LionFish Mer Timmy that I drew :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The talk goes rather well, considering its participants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Castration threat

Jason’s brain needed a reboot after hearing that. What exactly were these Mers hoping to get answered by him? Were they wondering where their usual supply of human flesh wandered off to? What even was he supposed to say to that then? Sorry, not sorry, your delivery of fishermen got lost on land? No refund available? 

He’s not stupid, he understood that even if he showed full cooperation (Hah! Fat chance of that!) he’d still end up dead but at the same time, he’s sure they’d make his stay here very unpleasant if he just outright refused. So, he’ll have to tread the line very carefully, give them enough information that they don’t torture him in frustration but at the same time don’t give everything away rendering himself useless to keep alive until he’s made an escape plan. The long game it shall be. Time to see just how well these Mers learned the language for the sake of tricking people like him. 

“And what, pray tell, questions do you need answered? Cuz lemme tell ya, this is not how you get people’s attention normally.” He barely recognized his own voice. Words were starting to get stuck in his throat from the lack of moisture, but he had absolutely no regrets about spitting into their little quaint cave home. 

Another head of black hair, the younger Mershark from before, rose up from the watery depths and frankly Jason was over it. This one better be the last head to pop up because he was feeling the slightly murderous urge to play “whack-a-mole”. The Mershark poised a clawed hand up at him, sharp little pinpricks that would sink into and rip flesh like it was butter, in threat and it only elevated it to very murderous urge rather than intimidate him. If gangsters on the streets of Gotham could pull out knives or guns and wave them around like the maniacs Gotham was infamous for and couldn’t make him flinch then sharp needles for claws weren’t going to cut it. 

Did all Mers treat people they wanted answers from like this? Jason was feeling underwhelmed if that was the case; there was way too much aggressive posturing and not enough oomph to back it up. This was a usual day for a Gothamite bred and born. Poisoning event aside of course. The Mershark swam to sit in the water next to the oldest Mer and them being together allowed Jason to see the resemblance beyond the two sharing the same Mer type. Like father, like son with their sloping noses and prominent brow bone. 

“Father,” the youngest one greeted, receiving a small acknowledging tilt of the head from his dad, “If I may, I know exactly how to make a human share its secrets. I can have the required information by sunrise.” 

The scarred Mershark chuffed oddly, “Ra’s?” He questioned, much to the confusion of the only human in the cave. 

The Octomer and Lionfish Mer shared a knowing look with one another and Jason took that as a sign that this was no longer a discussion involving him. The other hesitated, “...Yes. But I stress that the source is irrelevant if it can provide us with what we want to know.” 

“You already know my answer to that, Damian.” There was a note of finality to the words that the Mershark did not challenge, remaining silent. 

“If you’re talking about torturing me you can fuck right outta here.” Jason bristled, baring his teeth, which only had the young Mershark pulling his lips back revealing rows upon rows of triangular teeth in response. Jason was too hardened to let a small display like that frighten him, so he severely scowled in response, gesturing both middle fingers at the mers, waving them in a taunt. He was much too angry to be embarrassed by the fact that he probably looked ridiculous whilst doing so. 

“The teeth of you Humans are so blunt and ineffective.” Damian sneered, “You refer to yourselves as apex predators? View yourselves as belonging at the top of the food chain? Your arrogance is stifling and undeserved.” 

“Come out of the water then, punk. I’ll show you who’s the apex predator.” Jason never once thought of himself that way, but if it angered the Mers that he did, then he had no issue with it. 

“You must really want to be punished again, Human!” The Octomer snapped. Jason scoffed, insult ready to hurl before a loud growl echoed in the enclosed cave. 

“I have questions.” The older Mershark looked larger than before with his rage clear for all to see. “Do not make me repeat myself.” His words were suffused with anger, suffocating the words enough that Jason barely heard them. 

“Yeah? Well, you can take your questions and shove them up your ass! Let me out of here already, assholes!” Jason yelled back. The mers seemed to need a moment to recollect themselves and Jason could see Dick rearing up to jump at him, Damian prepared to follow him, before a calm voice broke it down. 

“Do you want to know what my favorite part of a human is?” The non sequitur question from the Lionfish Mer who had been completely silent compared to the more vocal shiver members so far, made Jason pause thinking ‘what the ever loving fuck?’

“Did I ask? Or look like I even care?” He asked, rude gesturing with his hands to himself. 

“You should.” Tim chirped like a bird, gaze locking onto Jason’s groin. He felt the sudden need to cover himself despite already wearing boxers. “My favorite part is right between your legs and I’ve learnt how to safely remove it without killing the meal.” 

The need to cover himself was looking more and more reasonable with each word out of the Lionfish Mer’s mouth. 

Tim licked his lips in a literal hunger that should never be applied to someone’s penis, “It’s especially nice when there’s that extra skin.” He tilted his head and had he not been discussing eating Jason’s dick like one talks about the weather, it would have been cute. Due to the circumstances however, it was just horrific. 

“I don’t know what it's called though.” 

Jason shuddered in horror. 

… 

Well, okay then. If it’s gonna be like that, there was no good reason for Jason to be obstinate about answering their questions to the best of his ability. He slumped from his aggressive stance, ready to punch away, to defeat, shoulders hunched in on themselves as he looked away from the Mers. If he had paid attention he would’ve noticed the strange looks on the other Mers’ faces. 

“Ask away then.” He sighed out. 

“What was the point of the explosions that day?” The oldest mer demanded. Jason winced, he did not like the direction this was going in and they’ve just started. 

“No one knows.” He answered, inciting anger in his audience. 

“What? You can tell us.” The Octomer mocked cruelly. “Was it population control?” Dick bared his teeth in a display of anger, “Gotta say, you humans did a spanking great job at it then. Broke past all expectations.”

“Spanking great job?” Jason asked, astonished, “What are you 50?” Seeing a Mer about his age speak that way was a bit disconcerting, but he felt some amusement too, despite the obvious power imbalance completely out of his favor. The ghost sensation of the sting on his arm burned as a reminder of that. 

“It wasn’t some population control effort.” He shot down after. 

“You mean all that death… was pointless?” Tim asked quietly. “It was... what? Some accident?” 

“Ridiculous!” The young Mershark snarled. “Father, I demand that I be allowed to remove this liar’s skin off of his face!” Damian shouted. Bruce ignored him, eyes closed, grief settling deep in his features. Dick was in shock, mouth open and eyes staring listlessly at the cave’s walls, processing the information. 

“I see.” He opened his eyes, “You humans should have never been left to your own decisions. A lesson has to be taught to the rest who’ve survived. Is this what you are trying to tell me?” He asked softly, voice firming at that end. Jason knew he wasn’t responsible for the Big One, but yet, he was feeling himself respond with guilt in the face of such sorrow. 

“I had nothing to do with it!” He shouted, some part of him desperate. He would never be involved with all of that death. Never would he harm those he cared for in such a ruthless manner. Inwardly wincing at how guilty and unnecessary of himself saying that was, he continues. 

“Besides, I’m sure we humans learned our lesson.” He wilted slightly, averting his eyes, “I haven’t seen anyone else for weeks since…” His voice broke, cracking in stress and dehydration. The whirlwind of emotions clouding his mind made his vision hazy. He couldn’t think straight anymore. His lips were cracked and his heart felt like it was beating outside of his body, buried in his mother’s grave back in Gotham for how distant each beat felt. 

“We’ve learnt our lesson.” He whispered, a resounding declaration before he passed out. Leaving the mers to deal with their own mess of emotions.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruce's POV

The human passed out from a combination of dehydration and emotional stress Tim reported back to his fellow shiver members. He was the only one who was able to assess the human’s condition; the others were too stuck in their own landscape from Hades’ realm to do anything else but stay frozen in their thoughts and past memories. Sometimes Bruce envied his middle pup’s ability to compartmentalize like that in stressful situations that left him straggling behind, other times he cursed Tim’s biological parents and prayed to Poseidon to make the remainder of their lives miserable. Sometimes Tim’s calm demeanor helped Bruce get his act together and that was the case right now. 

He couldn’t fail his role as the shiver’s leader. Not right now. Not like the last time. 

First step was ensuring the human wasn’t about to perish on them so soon. Chances were high that it was just a case of dehydration, but Bruce had no idea what dehydration looked like. It’s not every day a Mer died from such a thing after all. The human’s lips were cracked enough that they were bleeding and Bruce was fairly certain that that was what some level of dehydration looked like. 

“Did the human carry anything on him that he could drink?” Bruce asked, swimming over to Tim who was leaning over the older boy, checking him over. 

“Yeah, one of those plastic bottles. Halfway empty though.” Tim answered, poking the severely chapped lips in interest. “Human skin is always so dry and rough.” He complained. “It’s a disadvantage.” He twisted around to look at his listless brothers, “It’s a pretty common side effect for humans to be delirious and hallucinate whilst suffering from dehydration. It wouldn’t be a giant surge to assume he was mistaken with the little amount of info he gave us.” 

Contentions about Tim’s deceased human friend were about to be completely dropped by the rest of the shiver members if Tim kept providing them valuable information about humans like this. Bruce rubbed a hand onto Tim’s drying hair in approval, nodding. “We’ll have to question him again when he’s in a better condition to do so, then.” 

Dick brightened up at this nibbling of new knowledge, “That will be an annoying setback. But if it means we get accurate answers next time, then it’d be worth it.” He smiled at his shiver, an insecure wane one, not completely recovered from the disastrous conversation yet. Bruce should take the time to talk to each of his pups. It might be a lost cause, but he’d still try to reassure them that he was always there for them. Even if they’d be their bratty little selves about it. 

“I’m totally right about the population control theory. Prepare to owe me, little brothers.” Dick taunted in a sing-song voice. A simple distraction that worked since Damian sneered back, rebuking his brother’s claims. He had quite the extensive list there. 

Bruce’s heart ached. His eldest pup had matured rapidly (much too soon), taking on the weight of the ocean since Talia and Barbara’s deaths. Dick had lost both of the women who held his heart but he refused to break down in front of his shiver. Bruce worried for him. As father and leader he had to be strong so that his shiver members didn’t have to be, yet he was failing not only for Dick but his other two pups as well. They refused to let him be the standing pillar, at least not alone. It made him grateful and ashamed. Talia would’ve known what to say. 

“Alright, knock it off.” Bruce ordered gently, “I want an inventory check on the human’s possessions. I’ll give him the water and then we’ll join up to eat.” Sounds of their agreement echoed in the cave before they dived back under. They swam unhurried with Tim leading the way, all of them barely paying attention to their physical surroundings. Until Dick let out a muffled noise, quickly giving up on silencing himself after the others started to stare at him

Dick gushed out a laugh, bubbles escaping his open mouth, “Seriously, Timmy?” He brought his claws up in front of him, tentacles merging together into one to mimic Tim’s tail, “Beware, the Human Penis Eater is coming for you!” 

This was good, Bruce thought. A good distraction from the human’s earlier words. There’s been too much suffering for them lately and he couldn’t help but feel wronged by the human for worsening a situation. Even if it was the result of a hallucination. 

“Tim does not talk in third person.” Damian corrected, a close lipped smirk upon his face. 

“Shut up!” Tim’s spines bristled in embarrassment and indignation, “It worked, didn’t it?” He asked, spinning around in place to look at Bruce. The older Mer looked back, amusement unconfined in his dark blue eyes, “Yes, it certainly did. Although, I do have to question your choice in tactics.” 

“Anyways!” Tim spoke louder, blatantly ignoring Bruce’s second statement much to his shiver’s amusement, “We won’t have to risk accidentally killing the human now.” 

“A happy accident, regardless.” Damian commented. 

“The human stays alive until I give the go ahead to remove him. Is that clear?” Bruce was no longer jovial and was directing a strict look at each of his pups to ensure their compliance. They didn’t ask all the questions they needed answered just quite yet, so he needed the reassurance that they would be on their best behavior for this. 

“About that actually.” Tim spoke up, “I think we shouldn’t kill him at all.” 

“What?!” Dick exclaimed indignantly. 

“Don’t be absurd, Tim.” Damian reprimanded angrily, “Of course we’re killing it afterwards!” 

Bruce himself wouldn’t mind it if the human died afterwards, but Tim was a smart young mer, he should at least allow him to argue his point. The logistics of it were bothersome if Tim’s suggestion was taken on by the shiver though. 

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Tim? Normally I trust your judgment, but this will add further strain to the shiver if we support a human.” 

“I’m sure Bruce,” Tim replied, with no hint of doubt. “Think of it as an investment.” 

“Timothy, humans are very unappetizing to Mersharks.” 

“Well, the hungry don’t usually get a king’s luxury to choose.” 

Dick expelled water from his mouth in resignation, “I get a break from watching over it, then. Like a good few days, because I’m on the verge of ripping it’s head off.”

“Truly unexpected of you.” Damian prodded in light jest. Dick stabbed at him, Damian shifting away, and they raced around the cave, Dick hot on Damian’s tail. 

“Alright, I’ll take over for today at least.” Bruce volunteered, reluctance obvious, barely getting any reaction from the playing pups. Tim swam off to retrieve the bottle. Bruce left the pups to their own devices to go back to the human after Tim gave him the bottled water that the human was carrying with him. 

“I’ll get right on the water issue. Never tried to separate the salt from the water before, it should be interesting.” Tim stated to no one specifically, swimming away to his personal caves. 

Bruce shook his head to wake himself up. He was tired from the hunting trip, but things had to be taken care of first before he could relax enough to sleep. He made the short swim over to the main cave, looking at the bottle in uncertainty. He’s never actually opened one of these before. It shouldn’t be too difficult. 

He did not need nor want to ask Tim for help. The boy still lorded over Bruce asking for help on getting a thin piece of plastic off his fin. It’s not his fault his eyes couldn’t tell where the damned material started and the sensation of it clinging to him was more than a mere nuisance. He’ll figure out how to open the bottle himself.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Jason talk; well, more like Bruce attempts to manipulate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruce's POV

In the end, Bruce managed to figure it out. Just a twist to the white clear cylinder part of the plastic made an opening. It was easier than he’d thought it would be, but he wasted time looking over at the bottom part, which was apparently a fruitless endeavor, so he was glad he was the only witness. Of course, he only attempted this when he had resurfaced from the water, lest he lose all fresh water to the sea. 

With a few gulps worth of salt free water on hand, Bruce glided over to the passed out human and rearranged the boy so that the human was sitting up. Up close, an arm on his back holding him upright, Bruce could tell that the boy was in desperate need of a cleaning. Another thing to add to the ever growing list of human care and management. The first question Bruce had about this thing was how in Hades did humans clean themselves? 

Mers groomed themselves by helping each other out and by shedding their protective thin layer of their viscous protective barrier that humans named to be a slime coat. Bruce had seen some birds clean themselves using water or sand, so maybe that’d work for a human as well. Although, he felt like his assumption was flawed. He could always ask, because the ones to suffer from the human's uncleanliness would be them. 

Bruce stared down at the asleep human in his arms and the Mershark couldn’t help but think of how dumb that was. He could’ve easily killed the human like this and he doesn’t have some evolutionary failsafe for such a thing? How in the world did these humans manage to survive for as long as they had? Not much longer anymore though, which was a good riddance. 

The boy seemed to be stuck in a state of semi-consciousness, twitching in the older male’s grasp yet not fully processing the information. Bruce could help him out there; he pulled his arm away from it’s supporting position on the human’s back therefore dropping him and rudely awakening him. They needed to have a conversation and he couldn't care any less about hurting the human to get its attention. That as well as the fact that Bruce was not about to nurse the human back to health like it was a newborn pup. 

“Ow! Shit!” 

He cradled the back of his head as he jerked upright and glanced around the cave before his eyes landed on Bruce with a fierce glare. His voice was incredibly weak, so Bruce set the bottle down and calmly watched as the human snatched it and dragged himself away from his reach with a burst of adrenaline that ran out rapidly once he hit the walls, well out of Bruce’s reach if he wanted to stay in the water. Slumping against the wall, the boy maintained his glare and carefully took a sip from the bottle. And that interested the Mershark; that the human didn’t hesitate before drinking. 

“What?” The human hissed at him. 

“You didn’t question the water I gave you. I could have tampered with it.” 

The human snorted, “Yeah, I doubt that.” He answered, “For one, that little brat of yours basically outed all of you. None of ya have the slightest clue on how to hurt me without killing me, except him; not that you’d let him, apparently. And I know you don’t want me dead because you just had plenty of opportunity to do just that.” He laughed mirthlessly, “I can’t believe I fell for something stupid like a castration threat. Must have been the dehydration. So, why the hell should I be concerned about the water from my bottle?” 

This human was annoyingly talkative and Bruce’s understanding of English wasn’t as good as he wanted it to be to be able to follow such a long string of words as well as a native speaker would. But he gathered that dehydration was the reason for the compliance earlier, so it only strengthened Tim’s assessment of dehydration being the reason for the disastrous questioning session. The human only had a few sips of water and seemed to be recovering its wits, so Tim’s old strategy was not going to cut it anymore. 

Maybe another way to go about this would be to show some kindness to it and it will comply more easily. 

“I apologize for the way my pups brought you here.” The Mershark started, “In their over eagerness to find out what happened up on your side, they neglected to make any considerations for you.” Except Bruce made a mistake somewhere with those words of cordiality. The human almost did a double take, and stared at him, setting the bottle aside carefully. 

“I’m no idiot, fish.” He snarled. “You think some nice words will make me play your games?” 

It wasn’t the first time a human called him a fish and it never really insulted him the first time anyway; it was rather uninspired, much like the Mer insults for humans such as monkeys. He just wasn’t exactly sure what “games” the human was referring to. Bruce was confused and allowed it to show, which apparently, turned out to be another mistake. 

“Cut the bullshit.” Jason snapped, trying to get the mer to stop its act, “You want me here as much as they do.” 

The older Mer was feeling the backlash from the emotional whirlpool this human was, but he could banter, barter, and argue with the best of them. He shifted tides, looking for the easiest river into the lake. 

“I won’t argue about that. I see you as a source of knowledge that Mers like myself have been looking for for quite some time now.” Bruce started, deciding to blend lies with the truth. “That was no sufficient reason for the treatment we’ve given you thus far, however.” He pretended to compromise, but once again, it seemed like he made an error somewhere. 

“I grew up in a city of liars and thieves. You can’t fool me, Mer.” 

Alright then, clearly the dehydration had severely hampered the human, since Bruce was feeling very wrong-finned with both tactics so far. 

“You’re alive. Surely, the survivors are involved with the murders of all of those people.” Bruce reasoned. The logic made sense, people pulled the trigger when they were far from the danger and watched as they brought catastrophe. The human survivors were the ones to pull that trigger. The words seemed to sap away at the human’s gusto and those hard glaring eyes were no longer able to maintain contact, averting to look at the bottle. 

“Oh, so it’s my fault because I’m alive?” The boy asked softly, a hysterical quality to it, “Maybe you're right. Maybe I should have just died with my mom.” 

That brought Bruce back to Damian squirming against his grip, shouting out for Talia, his love, his mate, and his pups’ mother. Screaming at Bruce for him to let go, to let Damian go back to where Talia was lost in the kicked up sand. Those screams to let him die alongside his mother haunted him still. He was much too young to witness such a thing. Too young to be confronted with Talia’s severely injured form flying out of the sand cloud, barely coherent to her shiver’s screams. 

This boy was confronting him with the fears he had for his youngest. Telling him it’ll never heal. That Damian still wants to die with his mother. 

He clenched his teeth tight enough to crack several teeth, not that it mattered, they’d grow back by the end of several moons, to distract himself from Damian and bring himself back to the human. He could feel the anger and empathy surfacing within him, warring with one another and threatening to overwhelm him. So, he did what he did best and drowned them ruthlessly, burying them away so his facade wouldn’t break in front of the boy. 

The boy had started watching him in curiosity whilst he had been reminiscing and Bruce had to be imagining the understanding spark in those teal eyes, because this was a human he was dealing with. 

Clearly he’s been underestimating the lengths this human boy would go to to strip him further of his soul and all that he loves. Just like any other human; truly vile and despicable. 

He understood the “games'' the boy spoke of now and he was tired of them himself. He was tired of being so emotionally exhausted and did not appreciate this human for exploiting such a burden his kind gave him in the first place. So, detachment and compartalization. He had a duty to watch over the human until meal time. And fulfill that duty he shall. 

“Come here.” He demanded, tone firm with no room for disobedience. 

“Make me.” The human taunted. 

And Bruce could try to pretend and lie to himself that the chance to hurt the human didn’t incite a simmering rage to erupt within him, but one of his last promises to his mate was that he would be better. Be honest with himself and his shiver. And he has been honoring that promise. But. 

That promise didn’t extend to humans.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason is going to have to be patient

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the kudos, comments, subscriptions, and bookmarks thus far!

Jason really regretted taunting the Mer. The really one-sided fight ended the moment the Mer launched himself out of the water like a bat out of hell and bodily slammed against him, wracking his starving form with pain as he collided against the sharp wall of the cave. The skin on the Mershark’s tail was rough and gave Jason’s dried skin abrasions that stung in the water when the Mer dragged him by the foot into the pool, ignoring the weak kicks and untrained struggles Jason aimed at any place he could reach. 

“Deep breath.” He warned, before dragging them both under after Jason wasted his air shouting curses at him. Jason had no chance to actually take a breath and the situation reminded him of his encounter with the Octomer. These Mers were complete sadistic assholes. 

The Mer cut through the water quickly, bringing them out of the cave’s passages in seconds with powerful swipes of his tail. The Mer twisted around and up into a smaller entrance making Jason dizzy. Jason struggled against the Mer’s grip as claws started to sink into his skin. They resurfaced up in a smaller cave, a section of dry rock stretching several meters encircling the pool. Like the other cave, it was badly lit, cold, and dank. 

Jason unwillingly slumped against the Mershark as he greedily gasped in air. The Mer released his vice grip and Jason sunk lower into the water before recovering and doing a sloppy breaststroke, full of enthusiasm, to reach the dry surface. The Mershark merely glided to the left, heaving himself onto the rough surface, tail still partly submerged. 

“What’s the big deal, asshole?” Jason barked, clumsily scrambling on his knees and hands towards the cave’s walls, twisting at the last moment and slamming his back into it, practically trying to become one with it. “Needed a private room to eat me?” 

He did not like this situation at all. This Mer had already proven himself to be quite temperamental and Jason was tempted to rile him up, even if it got him another painful consequence, but frankly, he couldn’t see the worth in doing so. He doubted the Mers had anything to disinfect open wounds so it wouldn’t be wise to test them. Death was alright with him, he’s seen so much of it lately, that he couldn’t be bothered by it anymore. But dying a slow death from infection just was not appealing to him. 

The older male frowned, addressing him, “First, human flesh is abhorrent to Mersharks.” Jason did not know if the Mer meant to reassure him with that, but he was most certainly not reassured. The Mershark bulldozed onwards, “Secondly, this is the bathroom. I wouldn’t eat anything in here.” 

“The bathroom?” Jason asked, thrown off, receiving a nod in return. 

“You didn’t think we just relieved ourselves wherever, did you?” 

Jason just stared at him, “It… didn’t occur to me to think about the restroom situation… when I was preoccupied with not being fish-bait.” He answered, awkwardly, unable to prevent a hint of his anger and frustration from leaking into his voice. It’s not exactly a priority for someone in his situation to be thinking about such a thing. 

Although it had briefly come to his attention that he was conflicted on where he’d have to do his business. He didn’t want to take a dump in the cave because he’d be stuck with it afterwards and he doubted the Mers would take it kindly if he pissed into their water. They didn’t like it when he spat into it and pissing into it was even more disgusting than that. 

He’s already been drowned twice, poisoned once, threatened, and made to bleed so he was well aware that there were indeed consequences for his actions. His hands fidgeted around his wrists wishing he still had sleeves to tug at. He was shirtless however, so there was nothing to grab. 

The Mer nodded once more, “Well, then. I brought you here so you can relieve yourself.” 

Ignoring the fact that the Mer was acting as if it didn’t just hurt him in a fit of rage, Jason’s mouth dropped slightly, horrified and affronted all at once. “I need a babysitter to use the bathroom now?!” He stood up quickly and the fast motion must have set the Mer off since he stared fixedly upon any movements Jason made, gills flaring in warning. 

Jason froze at the image feeling very much like a wounded turtle bleeding in front of it’s natural predator. The older male’s white and gray colored tail thrashed in the water, splashing it loudly, teeth bared in warning. A few more seconds of posturing before the Mer settled, instincts appeased by the obvious submission, and he relaxed back, looking coolly at Jason. 

“You forgot that you are not a guest here, human. You are a prisoner, only living because my Shiver accepted you.” He narrowed his eyes, “So use the bathroom, boy.” He dragged himself back into the clear depths and once he was in the water he asked, “What do humans use to clean themselves?” 

Both the Lionfish Mer and this Mershark could learn how to work up to a new topic in a conversation, rather than giving their conversation partners whiplash. “Uh, soap?” He was filthy and the short dips in the seawater did little to help that, but it was almost guaranteed that they wouldn’t have many human items, much less soap. 

The Mer let out a sound reminiscent to a hum, before speaking, “I’ll be back. Don’t bother trying to swim out, you’ll drown.” A powerful flick of the tail and he was gone from Jason’s sight. What an asshole, he almost drowned with help anyway. 

He lost strength in his legs, collapsing harshly to the floor. He spent some time rubbing away at his arms, shivering as the cold seeped into his exposed flesh; goosebumps rose across his skin that may not be as connected to the cold temperature as much as he wished it was. He looked over the small puncture wounds the Mer’s claws left in his sides, deeming them to not be deep enough to be problematic but once again, if they got infected… it was going to be very unpleasant. The abrasions were small but still had a chance of infection and with the fantastic luck he's been having? Infection is pretty likely. That should be fun. 

Eventually, the urge to piss was too much to ignore, so he explored the cave, looking for the most discreet spot, careful where he put his bare feet. The Mershark said it was a bathroom and Jason wasn’t feeling up to finding any evidence of it on his feet. After taking care of his business, he walked around, still minding where he put his feet all the while. 

He was hoping to find some way that he could escape, a passage high up enough that the Mers would be unable to reach, but there was nothing. The rocks were smooth and even, like they were chiseled away at with tools, and the cave itself was almost perfectly round in shape. 

It had to be the work of someone and the discovery of more proof of the advancements of the mer species brought a swirl of different emotions to him; it was sad, people always told Jason that Mers were just bloodthirsty vicious creatures who have learnt how to trick their human prey by speaking the same tongue, the delicate attention alone to this room’s rounding walls showed something past all of that viciousness. 

Jason also couldn’t help but feel the frustration it brought on as well however; the Mers were smart and the hope of somehow outsmarting them was dwindling with every step he took around the room. He had no idea how he was going to get out of this. Briefly dropping the idea of an escape, he settled down close to the water. Not only did waiting near the walls just prove to be ineffective if the Mers could just launch themselves, but he also didn’t want to risk stepping in anything, especially since he wouldn’t be able to wash it off. 

And so he waited. It’s a matter of patience now.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not all is well in the Shiver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tim's POV

Tim was still trying to figure out how to go about separating the salt from the water when Damian barged into the cave, a small tide of water shifting from the movement.

“Why in Hades did you argue for the continual survival of that cretin, Timothy?” The younger boy demanded.

Oh, Mer’s fins, Damian said Timothy rather than Tim. He was most definitely displeased and had no issue showcasing it. Tim let the silence extend as he collected his thoughts on this pressing experiment Bruce assigned him, shelling them away, before focusing on his little brother. He can’t completely ignore the Mershark, lest he find himself in a physical brawl that Dick would have to interrupt. Dick’s punishments were unique so it was always wise to try to avoid them as much as possible. So, he’s going to have to participate in this conversation he already wants to swim away from to do that. 

“I already argued my point, Dami. He’ll make for good emergency food rations.” He replied, carefully keeping his tone neutral as he collected some water in a shell and swam upwards to the air. Damian followed after him with a sneer visible on his face, teeth not quite showing yet fortunately. To bare one’s teeth at another Mer was a challenge for a battle that sometimes was lethal, so Tim was somewhat reassured that Damian was not that angry at him. At least not yet. 

“I think you mean to say you just do not have the stomach to kill a human.” Damian glowered, “Your deceased human friend makes you have a certain… fondness for his kind.” 

Tim closed his eyes tightly, holding past memories that haunted him in his sleep at bay. The shell filled with water cracked in his grip as he held his emotions from lashing out too badly. Lashing out with negative emotions will only incite the same reaction in others. Stop the cycle right where it began. Tim understood that Damian was only lashing out, but it’s been a long few lunar cycles and Tim was just so tired of it. It was harsh of him, but sometimes he wished Damian would just get over Talia’s death like he got over being abandoned by his biological parents. 

It wasn’t that difficult. Sure, it hurt, but it was possible. It wasn’t still a sore spot and he wasn’t in denial, as much as the others seemed to think he was. He was over them. Talia was different, was better, but all people left Tim eventually. He was always waiting for it to happen, so when it did it hurt but less than it otherwise would, not as much as it hurt Damian who grew up knowing he was loved. Tim only wanted to learn to minimize people leaving him; Damian was seeking revenge. 

He hated that Connor’s memories were being defiled like this too. Every chance where Tim acted in a manner inappropriate of a Mer, suddenly it was all Connor’s fault. It made him question if staying with his shiver was a good choice. It was necessary to be a part of a group and he loved his brothers and Bruce, he did. But every time they did this to him, every time they disapproved of his relationship with Connor, it made him feel unaccepted. His relationship with Connor was important to how he was as an individual so it hurt and felt like he himself was being disapproved of. And for what? They’ve never met Connor and they never will and because of that, Tim’s actions and behaviors now had a scapegoat the size of a human. 

Tim slowly filled his lungs with the cold air of the cave. “Don’t put additional intentions to my point, Damian.” 

“I care not for the verbal spar, Tim.” Damian bared his teeth and Tim could feel his instincts clamoring for blood in response. He shoved them into a cave. “Are you supporting this human because of your human friend?”

“You’re not here to get an answer, Damian. You just want the evidence to what you believe and you’ll twist anything I say to make it prove your point.” 

“I’m asking you to be honest for once!” Damian shouted in anger. “You are blind and a fool if you can’t see the influence that pathetic creature still has over you!” 

Normally, Tim was very capable of multitasking, whether that’d be several experiments or a few conversations, it didn’t matter; but as always Connor Kent would always demand his full attention. Even in death, Connor had Tim’s full attention and respect and once more, Tim found himself putting all his energy into defending his best friend from his shiver. 

Hades’ pit. It shouldn’t be like this. 

He left the shell, leaving it floating on the surface of the cave’s pool before spinning towards his younger brother, teeth bared in challenge. He’ll focus on the human’s water plight later, after he’s drilled it into his brother’s head to stop questioning and challenging him. To stop insulting his friend because he understood nothing. 

Damian bared his teeth in response. Tim knew Dick and Bruce were going to be so very disappointed in them but he couldn’t bring himself to care right now.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Somewhat graphic detail about eating a shark. Not too bad tho, I think. Probably not necessary to give a warning but just in case.

The entire shiver, sans Alfred, was gathered in the cave next to the food storage. Eating the shark was a quiet affair. Bruce was never much of a talker and Dami and Tim were too busy sulking and nursing their injuries. Dick himself had no idea on what to even say. Their fights were becoming more and more frequent and each time they swam off with more injuries and neither Bruce nor him had much luck on getting them to stop. 

Dick worries that one day he’ll find one or both of them dead and he was disappointed, in himself and them, that the reason would be because of their disagreements. He couldn’t protect them from that as easily if it were just some physical threat to the shiver. 

Shiver members weren’t supposed to be so cutthroat with one another. It made a quiet voice in Dick’s head bubble out that the shiver only worked because of Talia and her gentle but firm command over all domestic issues. None of them could replicate that role and Dick felt incompetent every time he failed to do so. Talia being gone ripped a hole in the shiver’s dynamics and they were on the verge of collapsing. 

Every time Bruce went out on a self-harm mission, conveniently disguised as a hunting trip, it could be his last. Every fight Tim and Damian got into threatened to divide the shiver to an unrepairable state. Dick had to say something, had to have an open dialogue with his shiver members so they could drive the infection out of a bleeding wound. But what could he possibly say to fix any of this? 

Even if Dick just thought back to his and Tim’s conversation while they waited for the human to awaken, Dick already knew he was messing up if Tim was blaming himself in any shape or form. He wasn’t so naive as to think that his reassurances were possibly enough. 

Barbara helped whenever he felt like this. Sometimes her presence alone would be enough to quell any thoughts of insufficiency that sometimes overwhelmed him. She made it just whelming and he missed her dearly. With her gone also went the chance of being at peace. Dick was constantly stressing over their food situation, Tim and Damian’s devolving relationship, and Bruce’s ever increasing amount of scars, marking off how close his death day was. The dark thoughts Dick can’t seem to shake off haunted him as much as the flashbacks of Talia and Barbara’s deaths. 

Bruce speaking pulled Dick away from his thoughts and brought him back to the present. 

“I came across information about Lady Shiva. She was on the surface in one of the major human cities on that day. She perished.” 

“Good riddance.” Damian muttered. Dick couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment, as sometimes Shiva would seek Bruce and Talia out for a fight to the death. She never got what she wanted and was never able to kill them if they fought together so it was just a big headache for the shiver every time. 

Her being dead would mean there was no chance of Bruce being challenged and killed anytime soon. Plenty of other nuisances, like Ra’s and Deathstroke, survived though, so it was not completely safe. These days Ra’s has been mostly quiet and as enjoyable as the current peace was, the shiver knew Ra’s was going to be bringing a hurricane to their cave system sooner or later. Ra’s still had a fondness for Talia, even if he never showed it the way a loving father should and with her dead it most likely would bring some unpleasant consequence. It’s been some time now and the shiver was still waiting for the teeth to sink into them. Still though, Shiva being dead was some good news. 

The oldest Mer clicked in light reprimand. It wasn’t very effective since Damian silenced himself, but kept eating undisturbed. 

“Her daughter is still alive and taking missions tide after tide.” Bruce shook his head in resignation. 

Dick knew what Bruce meant. Cassandra Cain, daughter to Lady Shiva, was an incredibly dangerous opponent; just like her mother. Bruce believed that the girl could have been a kind and gentle soul had she grown up without Shiva’s influence. No point in crying about it now. Especially since she stayed on the same current her mother left her on after her death. 

“That’s one less thing to worry about.” Dick added, looking for something positive to uplift his shiver’s spirits. “Remember when you got sprayed by that octopus’ ink, Dami?” 

Damian flushed and scowled at him. “We agreed to never mention it, Grayson.” 

Tim perked up, still chewing on the shark fin he claimed for himself but his interest was clearly visible on his face. Bruce gave a small smile, “What’s this about?” 

“Grayson.” The younger boy hissed in warning, eyes wide and staring him down. Tim nodded enthusiastically struggling to finish chewing the cartilage. 

Dick smirked smugly, “Well, poor little Dami here got startled by a Flatfish coming out of the sand and barged into the home of an octopus and got ink in the face for it.” 

“No way.” Tim laughed, water gushing from his lips. Bruce let out a short laugh himself, cutting it off before Damian could focus his glare on him as well after Tim. 

“Tch. I’ll have you know that Grayson also blundered when he attempted to contort himself and his tentacles got knotted together.” 

A push of water left Bruce’s nose from that as he snorted in amusement. Dick scowled, “See if I ever trust you again, Dami.” He lamented mockingly. 

“Likewise, Dick.” Damian offered a mean smile, ripping into the tail with his sharp teeth. Tim shrugged, plucking the eye out from the shark’s head. 

“Not as bad as that time when Bruce couldn’t see that plastic on him and spent minutes caressing his tail trying to get it off and swimming around like a maniac.” He spoke, directing a grin over at Bruce. 

His shoulders slumped in over-exaggerated dismay, “Are you ever going to drop that?” 

“Never.” He popped the eye into his mouth cheekily. Blergh, shark eyes were gross. That reminded him of a story where he encountered Slade for the first time. Now that he thought about it, he’s never shared it with his shiver. Time to rectify that. 

Maybe he’ll have to reassess the situation. It didn’t seem like the shiver would be collapsing anytime soon since they were all laughing and sharing stories. But Dick knew better than most that happiness could be ripped away suddenly and without warning.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damian's POV
> 
> The line break is when it stops being his POV

Part of Dick’s punishment for Damian involved retrieving some food for the human. Disgusting and a complete waste of precious resources. Damian had tried to reason with the eldest sibling but it was all for naught. It was truly appearing as if Damian was the only mer in the shiver who remembered the atrocities the humans have brought to the Mer species. The human should be begging for their nonexistent mercy not be receiving a serving from their dwindling food supplies. It should be a death for a death. The rest of the humans should be slaughtered. This world needed to be cleansed from them once for all. 

Damian scowled fiercely as he scoured the food storage cave for the worst quality item. If he had to do this then he’d use all of the loopholes available to him. He twisted incorrectly as he reached for a sickly looking fish, stretching a wound at his side as he caught the squirming creature delicately between his claws. 

Damn Timothy. 

All of this for some dead pathetic human. Even more annoying was Timothy’s blind ignorance of the matter. Damian did not take pleasure in the pain he brought to Tim each time he reminded him of his human friend, but by the Gods did he hate that human for holding so much fondness in his brother’s heart. 

He was dead and yet Damian felt like he was losing to him. Timothy hated Damian for the reminders but Damian just wanted Tim to recognize his bias and maybe, hopefully, move away from it. The human was dead but Timothy was too preoccupied by it to see his still living shiver members. Attempts to wake Tim up only brought anguish and Damian is not trying to hurt his brother but he could see that is what he was doing. He was too angry to conceive of other tactics though. 

Curse Connor to Hades’ Pit of Tartarus. 

Damian swiped his tail powerfully through the water cutting through the passages until he got to the main cave. He breached into the air and slammed the flailing fish against the dry rocks -let the damn thing suffocate- before returning and rushing over to the restrooms. Father said he had left the human there to do his business and Gods help the boy if he wasn’t there. 

Fortunately for the human, it stayed where Father had left it. That meant Damian will have to wait another lunar cycle to reinforce its place here in the shiver. For now it seemed to understand. 

“Come, human.” Damian demanded haughtily. Escorting a subpar species was beneath Damian and yet here he was expected to do such a thing. He really was going to have to try another method on Tim if taking care of the human would be his punishment. 

The human stared at him from it’s curled up position, legs drawn towards its chest. It’s teal eyes seemed determined to make Damian back down. The nerve. Gritting his teeth, he spoke again. 

“Do not make me repeat myself.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” The human dismissed, setting its legs down. It’s voice was still hoarse from dehydration. “Don’t get your panties in a twist.” He slid himself down into the water and let Damian approach and grip an arm. It was disgustingly dry. 

Damian wasn’t too sure what the human meant but basing by the tone, he understood it to be insulting. As payment for the human’s attitude, Damian ensured that he added to the little wounds the human already had from Father by plunging his claws into the fragile skin of the human’s arm. The mer was glad to see it wasn’t just his patience the human tested. The human winced but didn’t waste its breath by back-talking him. 

Wishing he could drown the older male in the water but also fully aware of the consequences, Damian didn’t spend any more time than strictly necessary in the water as he brought them back to the air of the main cave. Damian shoved the coughing human towards the small piece of land, ignoring the unimpressive snarl he got in return. The human clumsily lifted itself up and sat down at the edge. 

Damian nodded towards the now dead fish next to the human. “Your meal; savour it, human. It’s all you are getting for some time.” 

A look of disgust enveloped the human’s features, nose scrunching and lips pulling downwards. The anger spiked Damian abruptly, “Is there a problem?” He hissed. 

The human sneered, “This fish is obviously diseased. I’m not touching that with a 10 foot pole.” 

He started sliding away from the corpse. The ingratitude of this inferior creature was aggravating what little kindness Damian could extend to it. 

“Also, you guys want me to live, right?” The human asked rhetorically, “I’m going to need to cook any fish you bring to keep on living.”

Cook? Apparently Damian accidentally said that out loud as the human explained itself. 

“Humans cook by using fire on their food.” 

Fire? Humans always prepare their food by using a volcano? How extravagant and incredibly cumbersome. Not for the first time, Damian wondered how Humans lived for as long as they have. The inability to eat something raw was truly an evolutionary error that should have wiped them out. 

“Tch.” Damian scoffed, “It’s a miracle that neither you nor that pathetic human died before all of this.” 

The human perked in interest, “You’ve met another human?”

“Of course not. My brother, the Lionfish, had a human friend. He died and that’s a wonderful thing to be celebrated, but he still sulks.” 

The human frowned at him in discontent and that rubbed Damian the wrong way. What was he doing making small talk with this infantile creature? He needs only to fulfill his duty of feeding this human and then he can go back to his exercise routine. 

Damian swam closer and grasped the fish before lunging at the human. The human jerked against him but the thing was so weak it’s efforts were all in vain. Succeeding in shoving the food down the human’s gullet, Damian finally released the coughing and gagging human. Immediately the human attempted to make itself vomit with its hands and Damian had to restrain him again. If the human thought it could waste what little the shiver could afford giving to it, it had another thing coming for it. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was poisoning from the raw fish that Damian had forced the boy to eat that was causing the high fever, delirium, and vomiting. And at first, the sight of Jason’s suffering had pleased the young Mershark, but as the human’s condition worsened until death was seemingly incredibly likely, Damian knew he’d have to explain himself and get treatment for the human. 

That was not as pleasing to him since he just knew a long lecture would be given for endangering the prisoner like this. The human started mumbling incoherently to himself, the fever driving him mad. The Mer sat up and started dragging himself back to the pool to get help from Timothy, as his brother would be the easier one to deal with compared to father and Dick. Even with their fights going on. 

A hand larger and warmer than Damian’s own wrapped around his elbow without warning and in the blink of an eye, Damian’s teeth and claws were sinking themselves into the human’s delicate tanned skin, blood gushing from the wounds around his teeth. Jason, barely even aware of his surroundings, screamed in pain, jerking away to no success. The taste was far from pleasant, but a lesson had to be taught; no one touched an al Ghul without permission, especially not a human, so Damian ground his sharp teeth into the flesh, getting cries of pain for mercy from the other. 

“Please Dad, please. I’ll do better next time!” The words were stuttered over and slurred from the fever but Damian still understood enough that he released the human just as quickly as he had grabbed him. 

A wave of anger, shame, and embarrassment swallowed the younger male alive when he stared at Jason’s trembling form, curling into himself to protect himself from the danger, blood sluggishly exiting the wounds he gave the human. 

Jason kept mumbling apologies and whimpering, pleading to his dad. Damian knew though that it was himself that was the real danger, not Jason’s father. The thought of causing this kind of misery to the human was not satisfying as before and Damian could only grit his teeth, watching the shaking form. 

Just what kind of monster was he trying to become? 

Granted, the human touched him without asking first, but it hardly warranted a reminder of past traumas. A past trauma that Damian was now violating and becoming a part of. Damian didn’t want to think much about the abuse the human has been dealing with from his shiver just for being a human either because he did not want to let go of his anger yet. He couldn’t. There’d be nothing left in him. 

The sound of Jason’s retching snapped Damian into action as he pushed himself back into the water. 

Deal with the physical pains before the emotional ones; survival first, as mother once told him. She may be gone from the world, but Damian held on to her memories like an oyster protected its pearl. The memories are more valuable than any pearl. 

He cut through the water and found Tim etching symbols into a rock tablet in one of the caves away from the main cave. 

“Tim!” He allowed his panic to show on his face, trying to urge Tim into action. It worked, he dropped the stone tablet, letting it sink to the ground and zipped over to him. 

“Dami! Why do you have blood over you?!” He spun around the Mershark in a whirl, assessing for any injuries, briefly confused by the lack of any new injuries before the odor of the blood finally processed itself to his senses. That wasn’t Mershark blood, much less any other Mer’s blood. That was Human blood. Anger and frustration shot through him as his spines arched back in warning. 

“Damian, I swear if you killed hi-” He yelled, ready to start reprimanding his kid brother. 

“I did not!” Damian shouted back, “But he will be if you don’t save the lecture for later! Now come!” He grasped Tim’s thin wrist and started pulling him towards the exit of the cave.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim heals the human and then has to confront some matters with Damian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tim's POV 
> 
> Warning: Vomiting (Not detailed graphically, but I know some people hate that stuff)

The human was waiting at Hades’ entrance when Damian dragged Tim over to the main cave. What in the seas did Damian do to render the human into a delirious sobbing mess like this?! Tim knew he hated humans but to really do something as vicious like this? 

“Mom…” The human moaned out pathetically, lost in whatever torture session Damian exiled him to. Tim discarded all thoughts and focused intently on the human’s condition, assessing it to be poisoning of some sort. As he blurted out a series of orders to the mershark trembling next to him, Tim couldn’t help but think of all the poisons in his room that Damian might have taken. A thought that brought despair in the Lionfish mer. To deliberately do such a thing. For Damian to do such a thing…

Not to mention all of the new wounds littering the human’s skin. Some of them looked like they belonged to Bruce and Damian. They should be fine. No signs of infection... yet. 

Tim will have the time to address all of that later, after the human stabilized to a safe place where death was not as likely. Damian dutifully carried out all commands, bringing in materials from his caves. It took some time, but eventually color returned to the human after Tim forcibly made the boy empty out his stomach. Very unpleasantly, parts of a decaying fish revealed the cause to Tim who shot a dark glare over to Damian at his side. Damian couldn’t even look him in the eyes. He was aware of his guilt and wasn’t trying to hide behind any pride. Good. 

The human woke up and weakly dragged itself away from their reach. The human glanced at Damian and Tim before averting his teal eyes away, a dark red threatened to overtake his tanned face. The human curling up reminded Tim of when Dick poisoned him too much for his comfort. How many more abuses was his shiver going to give this nameless human? Tim was starting to think keeping the human alive was more of a death sentence than just killing him. 

Tim decided the next best thing to do was to give the human his space, so he looked over to Damian, making his intent on leaving clear to the younger male. It was hard to read the mershark’s face but his hesitation was clear to see, Damian still swam after Tim as the Lionfish mer led them away from the main cave for privacy. 

Tim couldn’t contain his own fury and it was both a good thing and a bad thing that Dick was out hunting while Bruce slept away. No one to interrupt. He clung unto the small hope that this was all just some mistake though. Damian didn’t know what a human’s diet was, it very well could have been a misjudgment. Then again, feeding the human was a punishment Dick meted out, so this being a consequence of defiance wouldn’t be surprising either. Damian never dealt with punishment well. Tim couldn’t help but be annoyed by the lack of foresight Dick put into Damian’s task, but Bruce ensured that Tim could never infringe on Dick’s oversight of their punishments. 

“Humans can eat raw fish, it just has to be fresh and of good quality.” Tim reported, clinging to the assumption that Damian just didn’t know and could not care to find out. This incensed his younger brother, though. 

“First you insist that we keep the human alive. Now you want us to sacrifice the best of our dwindling supplies?!” Damian snarled. "That sick fish was exactly what the human deserved!" 

“You have to stop twisting my words.” Tim hissed back in frustration; he was only explaining their diet, not suggesting to give away their best supplies! Not only that, but Damian confessed that he knew the fish was going to cause the human pain. That was equal to a slap in the face for Tim. 

“You almost killed him, Dami! Not mercifully, not quickly, but painfully and slowly.” His voice turned soft with overwhelming emotion as the adrenaline brought on from the human’s critical condition faded. 

Gods, Damian showed such brutality towards the human. All the worries Tim had were manifesting right in front of him and he wanted to slap and hug and run away from this version that was replacing his sweet and weird younger brother. Was Damian really that consumed with revenge that his maliciousness would extend to every human? Tim knew that the capacity for evil in humanity was limitless, but the same could be said for the Mers too. Connor wasn’t even human, but he made sure to teach Tim about the ways of the humans, bonded not by blood but through kinship. They could be kind, these creatures that granted aliens a place in their home. 

If Tim had never met Connor, would he be trying to torture this human as well? Did he really have any moral high ground over Damian here, just because of Connor? Tim couldn’t even be sure of it. It was just too easy to hate, but he had to be honest and admit that Connor had left him with a good impression of humanity that, whilst got a beating by that horrific day, still stood firm. It didn’t stop him from saying it though. 

“Fighting a monster as one changes nothing in the world.” 

One of Talia’s lessons to teach her pups and here was Tim defiling it and baring it like teeth at his own brother’s throat. Damian jerked back visibly and Tim couldn’t help the sharp pinch of guilt. This might end up being the last conversation between the two of them. That… was painful to think about, but really, Tim shouldn’t be surprised. Things like this happened all the time to him, didn’t it. 

Damian was silent for a moment, “It was only my intention to return mother’s suffering. I… didn’t measure my actions correctly and brought more suffering upon the human than intended.” 

The human started to look like her, Tim read from Damian. So, the same reason for the vicious act became the reason for why Damian felt shame. It was irony and tragedy wrought together. Unfortunately, nothing new for these now practically barren seas.

Another lengthy pause as Damian looked up to Tim’s eyes, “Did you ever love us as much as you loved that human?” 

Tim didn’t think mere words could ever hurt him this much. Damian had given him many wounds, but none ever hurt like this. This was never what he wanted. Was Damian acting on jealousy and hurt over Connor all this time? To even question Tim’s love for the shiver… 

Before Tim could even think of how to address that, Dick barreled into the cave with the human in his hold. The human was bleeding heavily, and the smell of blood clung to the moving waters, shocking both brothers. 

“Seriously?!” Dick shouted at his two brothers. “I said I wanted a few days away from the human! What was he doing outside of the cave system, guys!?” He swam back out and dashed towards Tim’s caves. Tim snapped out of it, anxiously looking at Damian before swimming out, shouting a promise, “We will talk about this!” 

Unheard to Tim, Damian replied to the empty cave softly, “I already know the answer, Tim.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just thank all of you wonderful human beings once more? Thanks for the comments, kudos, subscriptions, and bookmarks~! 
> 
> I appreciate all of it. :D


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escape attempt #1
> 
> Jason's POV

“Jaybird, can you check for mail?” Her voice hoarse from years of smoking still held a softness to it as she poked her head through the doorway of his room. They still didn’t have enough money for an actual door and the thin cardboard replacement was pushed aside unless he wanted privacy. 

Jason looked up from his texts with Roy, “Sure.” He replied. 

Catherine playfully winked at him, “Pasta will be ready when you come back up.” Mom’s pasta was the best. 

Jason jumped up from his bed and quickly texted Roy a “brb” and left his phone on the bed before walking towards the front door. It was better to walk empty handed in this place. 

Passing by the elevator -thing’s been broken for months now- Jason jumped down the stairs three at a time. He jumped past the drunk of the apartment complex who was still trying to converse with Satan, Jason saw. Good ole Steve, never change. Continuing down, he passed by a group of teens barely older than him smoking weed and vaping. Sensing the developing headache from the smell, he jumped down the entire staircase and landed in a roll, the teens hooted and he offered a mocking bow before jumping down several steps once more. Finally, he reached the first floor. 

He went towards the entrance hall and opened the combination lock on the mailbox labeled Jackson 302. Store weekly magazines and bills were crammed in the small box. Just as he reached in, the glass panes on the doors shattered and a loud booming noise was all he could hear reverberating in his skull, before the ground moved and forced him to his knees. 

The noise stunned him for an amount of time he’s not certain of, before pain in his hand, knees, and left arm jerked him back to reality. He struggled back to his feet, cutting his hands up on the glass surrounding him on the floor. An annoying ringing sound was stuck in his left ear, but his right ear heard several screams and car alarms. 

What the hell was that? 

He needs to check on mom. He struggled to turn back to the stairs, his legs felt messed up. One of the teens was facedown on the steps, head twisted- 

Jason jerked up. Fuck. That annoying ringing was back in his ear and the Mers were staring at him. Shaking from more than the food poisoning, he dragged himself to the walls. It was a difficult task but he managed. He stomach cramped violently and his skin was disgustingly clammy. Fuck. He glanced at the Mers and all he saw was pity on the Lionfish’s face. Dammit. Could they just leave already?! He already knows that he’s a fuckup! And as if they were mind-readers, they swam back under. 

Jason was alone again. Good. Nothing new there. 

Breathing harshly against his knees -when did he curl up like this?- Jason struggled to stop himself from shaking. This… this place was Hell. Enough. He had enough. He needed to get out of here and away from these damned Mers. Even if it was the last thing he did. 

Keeping his eyes open through sheer stubbornness, his eyes honed in on a seashell left floating by the Mers. It was bigger than the ones you could find on a beach. 

It’ll do. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pain of several punctures and cuts throughout his body stinging in the salt water was nothing compared to the burning sensation in his lungs. Jason took the shell with him to hold extra air and every half a minute would let loose used up air in the water before taking small breaths from the shell. It hurt and made his head dizzy but it was effective because he was getting closer to the exit of the cave if the brightening light was actually sunlight and not the afterlife’s entrance. 

His vision was blurred but he could still see colors and light, so it’ll have to do. The light getting brighter along with the color green gave him a burst of adrenaline as he carefully held the shell at his side, lest he lose the rest of his air. Finally the space around him opened up and the light source came from above rather than in front. He got out. He actually got out. A rare feeling of elation made his limbs tremble. So close. 

He was fairly certain that he wasn’t that far from land, all he had to do was go up and he’d most likely be able to see the coast from there. 

Jason had been swimming for well over a minute upwards when a bright red and green blur came at him from the side and slammed right into his ribs. The hit forced his already straining lungs to expel any air left in them and a distinctive sense of horror overcame him when he realized he lost his grip on the shell too. 

As red colored the water around him -his blood, some far away part of him noted- he looked up into a beautiful face of snarling red lips, equally red flowing hair, and narrowed green eyes glowering down at him set upon a pale face. Green limbs -tentacles- swathed around the face. 

The surface of the water never looked so close and so far away than at that moment. Water was filling his lungs up. 

Typical, really. What incredibly shitty luck. With his failing eyesight he caught a glimmer of blue set upon orange, before everything went black. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sounds came to him in bits and pieces. His mind was far too hazy and discombobulated to comprehend what was going on around him. 

“How... pen...ge...bloo-”  
“...Pam... hates huma...on a good....”  
“...at was she....re-”  
“...Wood...ma...ck…”

Later the sounds got clearer. Someone was humming and a hand was combing through his hair. 

“Why are you...human doesn’t...treatment, Drake-”  
“It can...no harm…”  
“I found….how do we use...fish-”  
“...how to make...but we’ll have...to do it-”  
“Like who?”  
“Cain.” 

Jason didn’t hear anymore than that before succumbing to sleep once more.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhhh boy. This chapter is not satisfactory for me, but it's the best I can manage. Spent like a whole week with this chapter bothering the heck out of me xD
> 
> I hope y'all like it though. If not, feel free to let me know.

“I know you’re awake.” Dick repeated as many times as there are tides in a hurricane just for that moment of omniscience for whenever the human actually did wake up. And just like all the other times, the human was still asleep. Dick’s tentacles flailed about in annoyance as he gave the sleeping face on the dry rocks a glare. 

He could’ve been out hunting for food, hunting down Pamela with Bruce -trespassing a Mer’s home terf is a big no no-, or finally figuring out the issue between Tim and Dami, but nooooo, Tim just had to take it upon himself to lead the care effort for their unwanted rescue. Dick was an unfortunate casualty under Tim’s oppression. Woe him, oh Gods and Goddesses. 

At this point, Dick couldn’t even be that mad about it either. This human had some seriously bad luck; food poisoning and a run in with Pamela on the same day? Gods, it was just too pathetic for Dick to feel anything else besides begrudging pity for the boy. And that irritated him. It brought him no shame to admit that Dami’s… failure of oversight at his task brought a trill of satiated vengeance. But if that really was the case, why did this heavy sense of resigned guilt nearly overtake that? 

It was annoying Dick and the longer he had to run his hands through the human’s hair to “provide a positive hold to stave off the pit’s madness” -Tim’s words, not his- he might end up personally escorting Pamela into the cave to let her finish the kid off. Dick still couldn’t comprehend the fact that Tim actually used mom’s heirloom necklace to treat the human. 

Damian did, if that rage was anything to go off on. Tim’s quick retort of, “Correct any wrongdoings you’ve done” quickly abated that anger into bitter acquiescence in the youngest. 

Bruce who had nothing to say until then folded his arms and agreed, “Very well. Under those terms, I cannot argue. However, this will never be repeated.” He spoke firmly, pinning Tim with a wide eyes stare, “Any other usage would tarnish her memory, Tim.” 

And that was that. 

Talia’s necklace stayed on until the moon rose on the sky above and all life threatening injuries were healed. Even a short time usage like that had its risks and Tim decided to torture his older brother by making him be responsible for positive touch contact. Dick absolutely had nothing better to do with his life than play nurse for this frail creature, apparently. 

The wood might actually be completely dried by the time the boy finally awoken. Poor Dami had to scavenge the caves to find the six pieces at Tim’s behest. Worryingly, Dami would’ve ignored the order had it not been for Bruce’s stern look. Dick wasn’t sure what worsened in his brothers’ relationship in the short time he was gone yesterday, but it was bad enough that the human was able to escape without them noticing. Dami as a Mershark could sense a heartbeat nearby, so the fact that he failed to notice the human swimming by was really concerning. It was also bad enough that Tim looked anxiously over at Damian several times, clearly trying to convey something, but the younger outright ignored him with diligent care. 

If Dick thought mending it before was going to be difficult, he now had a Herculean task ahead of him. 

He knew it was childish, but he couldn’t help but blame the human. It seems like his presence was the final bite to kill off the Shiver and now they were gracelessly and weakly struggling in the maws of their predator. 

Dick wants to hate the human -Gods, does he really want to-, but it was really hard to do so now when he saw that look of resigned acceptance overtaking a glimmer of life in those teal eyes as Pamela loomed over his bleeding form. It made Dick’s resentment stutter and tremble. It should’ve been easy; all of this, Dick mused. Capture the human, question it and get answers, and then kill it. It’s so simple in design and yet somehow that got entirely dismantled and Dick was uncertain of the future here. 

“I know you’re awake.” He repeated, not entirely aware of his actions. He felt kind of not there mentally in the dank cave. The human lurching forward and banging their heads together really helped in bringing him back though. 

Dick brought both webbed hands to his forehead and hissed out several Merfolk curses as he barely refrained from smacking the human with a tentacle or two in retaliation. Looks like the human regretted it anyways from how tightly he was holding his own forehead and spewing curses. Were all humans this vulgar? Why was he so loud?! 

To shut the human’s yelling up, he picked up the almost finished water bottle and chucked it straight at his face, which only brought a bewildered glare and then more curses. No wonder Artemis hated human males. Dick understood that a lot, especially right now. 

“Are you going to shut up anytime soon?” Dick snarked impatiently. 

“No.” The boy threw back, “Don’t fucking touch me, Dickhead.” 

Dick has heard better insults from children, but the nerve of this human really chewed away at his patience. The human was practically at Hades’ gates and was only alive because of them. Such ingratitude. It’s not like Dick wanted to touch him either. He only cares about close contact with loved ones, and this human was the furthest you could get from that. If the human knew it was only for Tim’s sake that Dick did it, then he would’ve shut up and yelled at Tim rather than him. Not that it would make it okay; no one yells at his brothers. 

Instead of verbally replying Dick simply lifted his tentacles into the human’s line of sight and the human gained a white pallor in his skin in response as his eyes darted back and forth between the limbs and Dick’s widened eyes. The human gritted his teeth before glaring. 

“Go ahead.” He said challengingly. Please Olympus, give this human less mercy than Dick is granting. Seriously, Timmy, what is going on in that smart but dumb brain of yours? 

His limbs twitched midair awkwardly as he realized that the human definitely caught him in a bluff. He should leave before he actually ends up killing the human. Tim wants the human to stay alive, fine. But Dick is going to keep his interactions with the boy to a minimum. He’ll entrust Tim to find out all they wanted to know about the surface world and that day.

Dick will make sure that he’s around when the day finally comes where Tim finally lets his little pet die. It’s probably going to be more time than Dick’s comfortable with though, considering what they commissioned for the human. 

The human started patting himself down in shock, most likely noticing the distinct lack of injuries only now. How slow. 

In this lighting, the human’s eyes looked like her’s. If only the necklace didn’t stop wor- 

Dick clamped down on that stray thought and shoved it away and out of mind. 

Just as the black haired boy started to open his mouth, Dick deliberately pushed himself off the edge and plunged into the water. Let Tim take care of this mess he created. A clench in his chest made it difficult to exit the caves of Tim’s space, but Dick dismissed it. Some time alone would rearrange these unwanted thoughts back to what they should be. 

It just wasn’t fair. But then again, when has life ever been fair?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Sharks possess the sense to "feel" heartbeats. I'm paraphrasing it to simple terms, but that's the gist. I recommend reading more about it :D


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The commission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Peeks out of cave. Throws chapter out and scurries back in.* 
> 
> Hope ya enjoy~!

You cannot truly hate that which you truly understand. A false sentiment because Cassandra knew humans and hated them all the more for it. 

Cassandra knew humans. They were always stuck in a body they were uncomfortable in. Those who had confidence only had it because they’ve taken it from others. By stealing, bullying, humiliating and the other human intricacies on how to subordinate themselves that escape her grasp. It came from someone else in the end. Horrible. Killers. Thieves. That was what humans were. Cassandra knew this to be true. 

She saw it when her best and only friend was left to asphyxiate in the fishing nets. The Humans jeering and taking photos with the slowly dying Dolphin Mer. Cassandra raced across the surface of the ocean to reach her, but she was dead by the time she climbed the ship. The only time Cassandra felt desperation and it was all for naught. The body of a cherished friend - blonde hairs tangling in Cassandra's hands as she numbingly stroked her head- surrounded by dead humans. Some days still, her name made Cassandra ache. She doesn’t think of it anymore. 

Her mother, Shiva, was a feared Lamia, a Pit Viper, who earned her deadly reputation with each body added to her incomparable kill count. It didn’t matter what your species was or where you lived, Shiva already killed someone like you and would have no issue in repeating her past work. People thought it was out of a sense of professionalism or a cultivated thirst for blood and killing that made Shiva so dangerous while she was still alive. 

Both were wrong. 

Shiva was dangerous because she didn’t care for living, it was bland and life was only its most glorious in its last breaths. With each person Shiva denied another day of life her desire to find someone who’d deny her in turn only increased. Each person she killed was always so magnificent in their last moments and it made Shiva jealous. It burned her. Cassandra’s mother scoured the world finding humans, mers, and other creatures to fight to the death whilst using the thin veil of a job to fulfill it. 

Cassandra was born as a punishment for Shiva for failing to get a human to kill her. Her failure to die at long last borne the fruit of a new life instead. It was an insult. He had blond hair and was human. Cassandra didn’t know anything else and never saw fit to finding out more. Now, he was most likely as dead as Shiva. The past few weeks since her mother died, only days after the catastrophic events that purged almost all of humanity, Cassandra had been filled with thoughts beyond killing and the best techniques to make a target scream out all of their darkest thoughts. It was new and foreign. Different enough she did not know if it was bad or good yet. 

She kept to the familiar routine she had with Shiva, taking jobs here and there, each differing but still ending with someone, not her, dead. But the thoughts on how a sea star crawls across the ocean floor (all those moving limbs) to the way Deathstroke cleaned his bone sword with salt and whale fat (the mixing process of fat and salt was interesting) were thoughts she never had before her mother died. 

At times she didn’t like the new addition reminding her of life without Shiva and yet, she felt a burst of something (swelling in her chest and tingling down her snake tail - what was that-) left her breathless when the sea star moved a small distance. The gleam of Deathstroke’s blade, freshly cleaned, reflected something new in her. Shiva wouldn’t recognize her as she was now. 

Some part despaired at that. Another was… content, Cassandra thinks would be the correct word. She was leaving her existence of being a punishment behind. Living for herself slowly, but Cassandra was a zealous lover of her past and couldn’t bring herself to go past those thoughts. She watched Wilson make his cleaning product but never did more than that, grateful that the procedure was soothing to him as well, since he never mentioned her habit to observe. She took a job and completed it to the satisfaction of her employer at the time. Just like she did with Shiva. 

This though, was not what she normally did with Shiva. 

Ra’s raising an eyebrow at her had her not question it though, before he explained anyways. 

“Wayne,” He started and Cassandra was impassive in the face of anger and vehement disgust Ra’s spoke with that name, (She dealt with much worse and killed those problems). “Has commissioned a mission. Find water stored in bottles on the lands of those pathetic humans.” His sneer was impressive. “And wood. Bring the wood dry.” He finished off, slamming the engraved shell into the coral tables, sending the small fish that previously nipped away at his shark tail scurrying away into their hiding holes. 

Cassandra still did not know how to react to the image of self-care, so she did not react at all. She did wish he maintained his image of the deadly Mershark the oceans knew him as, but business was business and Shiva accepted his employment often. 

“Complete this mission.” He snarled at the seashell where the mission request laid, “And report back to me on why they want these human materials.” 

Material retrieval wasn’t exactly new, so compartmentalization wouldn’t be too difficult. She was bound to run into someone who’d deny her and it’ll be just like any mission with mother at that point. She nodded in assent, accepting the request. 

“Good.” He closed his eyes, speaking to himself. Another thing Cassandra wished he’d stop doing, but professionally never contested against. 

“I might finally have a reason, daughter. Reason to bring Damian back where he rightfully belongs.” 

Cassandra dismissed herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Sharks have smaller fish (Remoras) that stick close by to feed off parasites on their skin or dead debris from their hunting. Commensalism is the term for this mutualistic relationship. 
> 
> No worries y'all, it may take some time, but this fic is NOT gonna be abandoned. Feel free to "bother" me in the comments if it's taking a little too long. You won't offend me. :D

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos, comments, and/or bookmarks are always appreciated!


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